A weatherman's plan to rig the lottery

BOB THOMASAssociated Press

Published Friday, October 27, 2000

In ''Lucky Numbers,'' John Travolta appears as Russ Richards, a television weatherman basking in the adulation of the citizens of Harrisburg, Pa. He is such a local celebrity that he has his own booth at Denny's.

But his warming smile masks an inner anxiety: He is flirting with bankruptcy. Richards invested in a snowmobile dealership, and Harrisburg is having a freakish warm winter.

At desperation's door, Richards devises a bold plan: He will sabotage the state lottery and capture the jackpot millions. Trouble is, he enlists as accomplices the most inept band of wrongdoers since ''The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight.''

This is the basis for Nora Ephron's new -- and decidedly black -- comedy. Unlike her heartwarmer ''Sleepless in Seattle,'' ''Lucky Numbers'' is filled with nasty, double-dealing people and the occasional homicide. It's hard to squeeze laughs out of such material, though the talented actors give it their best effort.

Travolta seeks professional advice from an old buddy, Tim Roth, operator of a strip joint and friend of the underworld. He suggests enlisting ditsy Crystal (Lisa Kudrow), who selects the lottery numbers and who is sleeping with both Travolta and the TV station boss, Ed O'Neill.

The rigging of the numbers works out fine. Now the big challenge: how to claim the lottery prize without revealing the conspiracy. Kudrow sends for her doltish cousin, Michael Moore, to do it, but he ends up dead. The conspirators grow more frantic as the fortune remains just outside their grasp.

Adam Resnick has written a clever comedy of errors, but it's hard to develop any sympathy for the greedy incompetents. Only Roth's character seems to have any savvy, albeit of the illegal variety.

The ever-versatile Travolta captures the smarmy charm of a small-time celebrity, as well as the panic of a man who is in over his head. Kudrow virtually steals the picture, using her comedic skills from ''Friends'' to make the clueless Crystal both hilarious and pathetic. O'Neill, late of ''Married ... with Children,'' demonstrates the stuff to become a top character actor.